Kids are writing their Learning Letters right now. And though they are selecting and supporting their final grades, I want them thinking about learning, not grading. But this is no easy think, for they have been conditioned for the whole of their educational experiences to think of learning in terms of grading. So, yesterday, as they set to the task of helping me make sense of the wreck where learning and grading meet, I shared the following My Room Message and Sappy Sy Rhyme with them.

And I can give grades. I have given grades. Oh, I think I thought kids earned their grades, but that earning was too often conforming to and complying with my grading expectations, which were not always focused on learning. And this resulted in my giving them grades in the disguise of learning.

Learning, on the other hand, cannot be given. Learning is authentic. It happened or it didn’t, and there is one who knows best: the learner. She alone knows what she is carrying forward. And what she has “earned,” she will keep. And I don’t think that can be captured in a mark. I think it is captured in a story, so invite her to share her story, before we engage in the undignified task of making a final mark. And my hope is that as the mark eventually fades, the impression of her learning lingers.

Sorry, out of time. Meant to write more.

Happy Friday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.